Justin Case
by Mariel1
Summary: Someone, or something, has been sneaking food from the Hall of Hearts. Is this 'person' friend or foe? And when his identity is revealed, how will the Family react? He is not, after all, your typical Care Bear Cousin!
1. Chapter 1: A Thief In Our Midst

Justin Case

_Author's Note: I now have **four** unfinished stories in progress, but this one wouldn't leave me alone, and I needed something to get me back into the swing of things. My other stories are on hiatus for now, and when I'm not studying or working I'm usually too tired to do much. Now...I've introduced plenty of 'cute-and-cuddly' characters, though some of them admittedly have a bit of an attitude, but it's easy enough to accept an attractive package. You won't get that in this story, but I hope you like him anyway. And Soulful Heart Fox belongs to NebulaBelt (you guys know the drill ;) )._

Late autumn was always cold in the Kingdom of Caring, and if anyone was around to ask them, the Care Bear Family would certainly agree that this November night was the coldest so far. No one was overjoyed to be attending a late-night meeting at the Hall of Hearts, courtesy of Brave Heart. The lion himself had dark circles under his eyes and was wearing a heavy winter coat, but his energy level was high that night, and with good reason.

"Everybody here?" he asked, his eyes briefly scanning the room. Faint, tinny-sounding music caught his attention, and he pointedly cleared his throat.

Chance, the tip of his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth in concentration, was giving his thumbs a workout and was completely oblivious to his uncle. The beeps and music continued, and Brave Heart began to tap his foot.

"A-_hem!_"

"Huh?" the liger glanced up, but not before he hit the pause button.

"Put down the Gameboy, and pay attention please..." sighed Stellar, trying not to yawn. Chance sheepishly complied as a few of the Family members began to giggle.

"_Thank_ you." Brave Heart said sarcastically. "Cheer, wake up Grumpy, will you? And Soulful, quit tapping your fingers on the table! That drives me nuts."

The fox snorted disdainfully, and glared back at him. "Well? Are you going to start the meeting already, or are you going to keep us here all night?"

Brave Heart folded his arms. "Friends...and Soulful..."

No reaction from the fox, who really couldn't have cared less.

"We have a thief!" announced the lion, pausing for effect. Everyone was silent, waiting for him to continue, and Chance leaned back in his chair, looking bored. Brave Heart went on, "As you know, tonight it was my turn to do an inventory check on our winter supplies, and I found _this_," he held up a handful of walnuts in the shell, "right where the apples were supposed to be."

Pace raised his paw, clearing his throat politely, "Excuse me, but that seems more like a trade than outright thievery."

"WAAAAAAAAA!" yelled Chance, who had leaned back too far in his chair and fallen over backwards. There was a brief commotion as those around him made sure he was okay, and Connie said something under her breath that sounded like 'how old are you?'.

"Maybe if it was an _even_ trade," said Brave Heart, "and even if it was, whoever did it never asked if they could. That's stealing. Those apples were where they should have been two hours ago, and now they're gone. It couldn't have been one of us."

"Well," reasoned Pace, "Maybe whoever took the apples needed them more than we did. Nothing grows up here this time of year, so..."

"Until we know for sure, none of us is safe!" Brave Heart interrupted, "I say we track down who, or what, did this, and make 'em tell us why!"

Darien scratched the back of his head and gave a wide yawn. "Can't it wait until mornin'? It's a handful of freakin' _apples,_ okay? It's not as if someone burned the place down..."

"Darien..." whispered Hope, shaking her head no.

"What? I was just sayin'..." he mumbled, but fell silent.

Soulful Heart got up, and held up his paws as if to say 'that's it'. "I'm going back to bed. This is ridiculous."

The Care Bear Family watched him leave, and more than half of them wanted to do the same, but they all understood that it wasn't an option. Even Darien sighed as if giving up, and sat up a little bit straighter.

"Now, Bright Heart, if you would be so kind, follow me into the store room." said Brave Heart, turning to head for their food stores without waiting for a reply. Pace watched as the raccoon did as he was told, then turned his attention back to the walnuts, which Brave Heart had set down on the table. He frequently went on nature walks, and he now remembered seeing pieces of walnut shells on one of his hikes. At the time he hadn't thought much about it, but now that he thought about it he remembered that the pieces looked more like they had been smashed open by a rock than chewed apart by squirrels.

While the others were half-heartedly poking about the Hall in search of clues, Pace decided to head back alone to where he had first seen those shells. He took a flashlight from the supply closet, and tucked it into one of the pockets of his parka. If the 'thief' was leaving some sort of payment for the things he or she took, Pace was pretty sure he had nothing to fear by going alone. Whoever it was seemed to have some sort of conscience.

Pace was just turning to leave when Noble Heart stopped him.

"And where are you trying to slip away to?" he asked.

"I'm going to look around outside...Maybe check up on something I saw earlier this week." Pace said cautiously, hoping that the horse wouldn't make him bring someone along.

Noble Heart seemed to consider this for a moment, then he nodded. "All right, but leave your cell phone on."

Pace nodded and slipped out into the night before Noble Heart could change his mind. He drove low, hovering a mere ten feet over the main road that lead to the Forest of Feelings, going slowly so that he could keep an eye out for anything unfamiliar. It wasn't long before he came across Soulful Heart Fox, who was still on his way home. The fox turned and shielded his eyes against the glare of Pace's headlights as the liger descended to talk to him, the Cloudmobile dissipating after he got out.

"The meeting's over already?" Soulful asked doubtfully.

"Everyone's looking for clues." Said Pace, as usual being as succinct as possible.

"And you?" asked the fox.

"The same. I saw something a few days ago, and thought it might be good to look into it a bit more."

Soulful raised his eyebrows, looking both curious and worried. "Around where we live, you mean?"

"Well, not right in our back yards, but yes." Said Pace.

The level of light diminished as a cloud chose that exact moment to obscure the moon, and the temperature actually seemed to drop.

"What is it you saw?" Soulful asked, looking very serious now.

The answer wasn't what he expected. "Walnut shells."

'_Walnut shells?_' thought Soulful, knowing that it was pertinent if Pace was following up on it, but unable to see just how. "Squirrels, no doubt." He said uncertainly.

Pace shook his head. "No, not squirrels. Have you ever seen a walnut that a squirrel's been chewing on?"

Soulful almost said 'why would I want to?', but he simply shook his head instead.

Pace smiled a bit, easily able to read his 'uncle's' expression, and explained, "Well, if you knew what to look for, you'd see scrape marks from their teeth on the edges of the pieces. The bits I found didn't have that, and since walnuts were found at the Hall—"

Soulful cut him off. "You made the connection."

"Mm-hmm."

Soulful Heart frowned at him. "And so you just decided to go traipsing off into the night – _alone_, no less – in search of a thief whose nature is _completely_ unknown? I'm disappointed, you used to be smart."

Pace was used to Soulful's bluntness, and wasn't offended. "Well, first of all, I don't 'traipse'; I walk. Second of all, I'm not alone at the moment. And third, I wouldn't use the word 'unknown'. Whoever it is has some concept of morality, otherwise why bother to leave payment at all?" he smiled, "Even if it's in the form of a few walnuts."

"Hmph…" Soulful grunted, "You still shouldn't do this alone, though."

The liger shrugged passively, and clicked on his flashlight. "You're welcome to tag along if you want to. To be honest, anyone else would probably talk too much, and we'd never find anything."

"That's not necessarily a _bad_ thing, considering it's the middle of the night." Grumbled the fox, trudging unhappily after Pace, who had turned and pushed his way through the bushes that lined the path. "Gentle Heart hardly talks at all." He pointed out.

Pace dismissed that thought with a shake of his head. Gentle tended to spook too easily, and she was busy back at the Hall.

Soulful cursed as they forged their way through a briar patch, and he bristled when Pace turned and said 'shh'.

"Don't you 'shush' me!" he hissed back, "I'm tired, I'm cold, and it'll take me hours to get these burrs out of my tail!" He clutched the appendage in his paws and picked at his severely matted fur.

Pace gestured firmly for silence and pointed to his ear, mouthing the word 'listen'.

Soulful listened, and at first he heard nothing. Then, after a few seconds, he heard a distant crunching sound. Apples had been missing from the hall, and what he heard sounded exactly like someone biting into a fresh apple and chewing hungrily, as if whatever it was couldn't fill its belly fast enough.

Pace nodded at the look of comprehension on Soulful's face, covering the flashlight so that only a tiny shaft of light peeked through his fingers. Silently, the two of them cautiously approached the sound, having no idea what they would find.

Abruptly the crunching ceased, and for the briefest of moments there was a strange _scuttling_ sound and a thump. Then…nothing.

Soulful swallowed hard, unsure of the exact reason why that sound made the bile rise in his throat. It almost sounded _familiar_. He didn't want to go a single step further, but he knew he'd never get a wink of sleep with this mystery hanging over his head.

What they found was a simple clearing, about ten feet in diameter, and four well-gnawed apple cores.

Pace picked up an apple core by its stem, frowning slightly as he examined it.

"An animal?" asked Soulful, though he didn't think so.

No…An animal wouldn't eat an apple and leave the core, I don't think…At least, the core would be in pieces. Look at these tooth marks. They almost look human…but they're too wide."

"Enough is enough." Declared Soulful, "We're going back to the Hall to show the others what you found, then I'm done with this."

Pace didn't argue, and the two of them left the area. Neither of them witnessed a small patch of cloud lift like a trap door, showing nothing more than moonlight glinting off of eight large eyes, which were narrowed in suspicion.

The so-called 'thief' was well aware of the concept of stealing. He had, after all, been living unseen in the Kingdom of Caring for a number of years. It was only quite recently that he had begun to sneak into the Hall of Hearts to get the food he needed, having grown sick (literally, in some cases) of eating walnuts. This past year he had 'changed', and could no longer eat the food he was accustomed to. He was able to subsist on wild fruits and such, but as winter drew near he was finding it harder and harder to keep his belly full. He liked walnuts well enough, but his method of opening them involved two rocks and some luck. After having a belly ache one night, and smashing his 'paw' the next night (which was followed by a string of naughty words), he decided that he couldn't take it anymore. He would see what the Care Bears were eating, and leave something in return, hoping that they wouldn't notice.

It was a faint hope, since all he had to leave them was walnuts. '_The biggest irony,_' he thought, '_is that I can't simply _ask_ them for food._'

He didn't dare. He had seen how some of them reacted to his appearance when he was a lot smaller, and if they saw him _now_…Before, the main danger was being smashed. Not at all an attractive way to expire, but at least it would have been quick, even as big as he had been. But now he was ever so much bigger, and he didn't want to think of what would happen if he encountered one of them. It didn't really occur to him that they might think _he_ was dangerous if they ever met him.

And now, two of them had almost discovered him. He would have to relocate, dig out a new burrow, and move his cache of walnuts. How tedious…

_Author's Note: So, has anyone guessed the nature of the latest newbie yet? The eight eyes should be a dead give-away. More to come soon._


	2. Chapter 2: Not So Itsy Bitsy

"Justin Case"

_Author's Note: Sorry it took so long, but chapters will most likely be spaced out. I don't own the Care Bears, but I do own Justin, Regal and her family. Soulful Heart belongs to NebulaBelt. _

Chapter 2: Not So 'Itsy-Bitsy'

The next morning held much disappointment for Pace. The leaders had taken him seriously, allowing themselves to be led to the place he and Soulful had found the night before; however, there was no evidence to suggest that the thief had been there. The very contours of the cloud floor beneath them had changed overnight, and now the clearing dipped into a shallow bowl shape.

"Are you _sure_ this is where you found the apple cores?" asked Brave Heart, "After all, everything looks different in daylight, so it's easy to make a mistake."

"It's no mistake, Uncle Brave Heart." Pace protested, looking both crestfallen and determined. "This is the same place, only...it _is_ different. It's been changed, somehow..."

Brave Heart nodded indulgently, and Pace lashed his tail a bit as if the lion had given him a patronizing pat on the head. He didn't have Soulful here to back him up, for the fox had flat-out refused to accompany them.

Noble Heart scratched thoughtfully at his mane, and seemed to be more willing to buy Pace's story than Brave Heart was. "You said you heard something run away, so it makes sense that whatever might have been living here would have moved. Seeing the beam from the flashlight and hearing you two coming closer, whoever it was must have been frightened away." The purple horse turned to the mortified liger, and gripped his shoulder comfortingly. "I'd say this wasn't a total loss, son. We're no closer to discovering our thief's identity, but we have a rough idea of where to search for him. But in the meantime, there's too much work to do down on Earth."

"I'd like to continue to search, if I may." said Pace.

Noble Heart smiled, amused by how formal Pace's speech could be sometimes, and replied, "All right. You have two hours."

"_Two hours?_" asked Pace incredulously.

"We need you. Besides, if the thief works at night, this might not be the best time to look." said Noble Heart.

Pace bit back another protest, and nodded in acceptance. Noble Heart was right, and he didn't necessarily have to be the one to find their thief. He knew his family well enough to know that they would ask questions first and 'attack' second, if you could call using their tummy symbols an actual attack. He had no reason to be vexed about being given a time limit to search when it wasn't likely that he would find anything.

The three leaders departed, and Pace stooped to examine the depression in the clouds. He prodded at it with his paws, feeling how springy and tightly packed they were, and looked thoughtful as he stood up again. He was sure that the clouds had curved outward the night before, and now it was as if...

"As if a hole has been filled in..." Pace muttered. He looked at his watch, then turned and hiked deeper into the Forest.

* * *

"I'm telling you, he'll be mad." warned Hope, who was already resigned to the fact that her twin wouldn't heed her. 

"I know, I know," Connie waved off the warning impatiently. "but he's in a mood more often than not anyway, and he wasn't very forthcoming earlier."

They were talking, of course, about Soulful Heart Fox and that morning's brief meeting. Soulful didn't go down to Earth nearly as often as the others did, so it was no surprise that he elected to stay home and catch up on his sleep.

"What makes you think he'll be very forthcoming now?" asked Hope. "That is, assuming he'll even get out of bed to answer the door. Doubtful. You know he doesn't like to be disturbed."

Connie smiled mischievously. "Sometimes forgiveness is easier to get than permission."

Hope smiled back, ruefully. "Not with Soulful."

"Hush up, girlie, you cramp my style!" Connie elbowed her playfully, and the two of them were still giggling when they climbed the front steps of his porch and rang the doorbell. No answer. Connie rang the doorbell twice more before they heard the sound of Soulful's rather distinctive voice as he approached the door.

"Oh, now, is that nice?" Connie called through the door, able to make out some of what he was saying.

Soulful yanked the door open, standing there in his nightshirt and looking quite perturbed. "_Yes?_"

Connie had the good sense to refrain from commenting on his attire, but she couldn't quite wipe the rebellious smirk off her face. "Hey. Listen, we're sorry to wake you up, but - "

"No you're not, I know you better than that." he said. "What do you want?"

"I really need to ask you about something, and I don't have much time, otherwise I would have waited." she explained. When he grunted a response, she continued, "We brought you some Double Stuff Oreos..."

Hope, who had been standing with her paws behind her back, revealed that she was carrying a package of cookies.

Soulful eyed the treat, knowing he was being bribed, but he was slightly amused that they'd go to such lengths to get on his good side. Not that it actually worked, but he saw that there was no getting out of it. He sighed, running a paw through his headfur, which promptly sprang back up again from his having slept on it. "Fine. You might as well come in; I'm freezing my tail off out here."

"'Tis the season..." snickered Hope as they entered his home, putting the package of cookies on his table.

Soulful looked at her impatiently. "Well?"

Hope indicated her sister, who was standing by the front door. "Your show, not mine."

"Okay..." Connie folded her paws in front of her and leaned against the door. "At the meeting this morning, you didn't say much of anything before you left, even when you were asked what you thought it was, right?"

Soulful made a show of looking at his wristwatch, and tapped his foot. "Your point, if you please."

"Come on, Soulful." wheedled Connie, "Even if you didn't see what was out there, I think you have some idea of what it might have been."

"Well, you thought wrong." said the fox, "Now, if - "

"Tell us what you heard." Connie pressed him.

"I don't _know_ what I heard!" snapped Soulful, looking more agitated by the minute. This statement wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't false either. He had no way of knowing what it was, but he had a dim recollection of hearing that type of sound before. A possibility had sprung to mind, one that he didn't even want to entertain, and he had dismissed it entirely.

Hope tried a different approach, and put a paw on Soulful's shoulder, earning a suspicious look from the fox. "I think you might have a thought, but you're afraid we'll think it's stupid." When he snorted in negation, she said, "Can you describe what you heard? Pace said it sounded like footsteps, but not quite."

Soulful looked from one liger to the other after shrugging off Hope's paw, and finally he sighed. "It sort of sounded like this," and he drummed his fingers rapidly on the coffee table for a second or two. "That's all I can tell you. Now,_ please _go and let me get some sleep."

They could tell that he was making a real effort not to be snippy with them, and they nodded agreeably and left. As soon as they were gone, Soulful locked the door. Then, as he had compulsively done every two hours or so that morning, he checked his back door and his windows to make sure they were securely locked.

* * *

The day hadn't gone well for Pace. He had lost track of time and received a minor scolding from Noble Heart, and throughout the entire day he couldn't shake the feeling that someone had been watching him the entire time he was searching the Forest. He had tried calling out, but received no answer. Of course, he wasn't surprised. His Missions went well enough, but he had trouble concentrating as he worried about what might be happening back in the Kingdom of Caring. When he arrived home at around dinner time, he brewed a pot of coffee and drank half of it in less than an hour. 

"Dang, Pace..." Chance watched him with equal measures of awe and dismay, "You're gonna mess up your insides something fierce, you know that?"

Pace gave him an arch look. "That's disgusting."

"Well, he's right." said Stellar, helping himself to half a cup as he said this. "Why're you drinking coffee this late anyway?"

"I need to be alert tonight." said Pace.

"Why?" asked Chance.

"I have somewhere to be." Pace said evasively.

Chance grinned at him and elbowed Stellar. "Finally asked out Hugs, did ya?"

Twin blossoms of crimson appeared on Pace's cheeks, but his only outward sign of annoyance was a slight twitch of his tail. "Actually, I thought I'd spend some time at the Hall of Hearts doing inventory. I've already cleared it with the higher-ups, and it'll be a late night."

"Maybe I'll come with you." Stellar said thoughtfully, wrinkling his forehead in a look of worry.

"It only takes one to do inventory, and you need to be out earlier than I do." Pace informed him, "I'll be fine. It won't be for the entire night or anything."

"Well..." Stellar rubbed his chin, but he wasn't quick enough.

"Well, I gotta run." Pace said brightly, putting his coffee mug in the dishwasher and brushing off his paws. "I'm wanted at the Hall about...oh, five minutes ago! See you."

"Well..." Stellar held up a finger as Pace passed him, "Um..."

"Too late, Dad. You're losing your touch." laughed Chance.

Stellar shrugged and sipped at his coffee before spitting it into the sink. "Too cold..."

* * *

It only took Pace two hours to finish doing inventory, and so far nothing else was missing. He switched off the light and sat in the semi-darkness of the Hall of Hearts Cafeteria, waiting to see if anything would happen. He hoped that if the thief _did_ come he wouldn't scare him off or provoke him into attacking. Just because this 'person' had consistently run away and kept himself hidden, that was no guarantee that he was friendly. Pace wasn't certain why, but he had a feeling that their thief was a male, and that he worked alone. Perhaps his nose knew something he didn't; he had a more sensitive nose than a human, but not by a heck of a lot. Certainly not enough to tell by scent what species he was dealing with. Also, the actions didn't quite seem to be those of a female; the thief only took a handful of apples, and ignored the more savory treats the pantry had to offer. 

Pace sat on the floor with his back against the wall, and let his mind wander. He could sit like that for hours and not grow bored, for he had plenty of thoughts in his head to keep himself occupied. He could call up chapters of 'The Hobbit' almost word-for-word in his mind, and he could imagine the scenery and characters so vividly that no movie would ever be able to come close.

He had been sitting there for nearly three hours, and was trying to remember the exact words of the riddle contest between Bilbo and Gollum when he heard a peculiar skittering sound on the roof of the Hall. He froze, cocking an ear toward the sound, his heart thundering in his chest as the sound disappeared. Then there was a slow, soft creak as the front door was pushed open, and an eight-eyed face peeked in. Pace's heart was in his throat, and he held his breath. '_What in the world _is_ that?_'

The eight eyes were arranged in a rounded 'M' pattern, like the famous golden arches of McDonald's, but they were separated in the middle, presumably where the nose would be. The head, which was roughly shaped like a Care Bear or Care Cousin's, turned slightly to the left and right as the as yet unnamed creature surveyed what he could see of the room. Its breath shivered in its throat as if it were cold, or nervous, or both. It then cautiously extended two strangely-shaped arms in front of it, the 'paws' placed palm-down on the floor.

Pace blinked, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but they weren't. The arms possessed an extra joint, making it seem like there were two elbows on each arm, but otherwise they appeared quite normal. They were merely a bit oversized for the arms of a Family Member. When the rest of the creature followed, however, Pace couldn't suppress a gasp, and they both immediately froze.

The creature had six more limbs, each shaped the same as the 'arms', which were clearly more like forelegs than anything else; The four rear limbs faced backwards, sort of pushing off of the ground to propel the creature forward when it was in motion, while the four front limbs pulled its rounded bulk forward. Its main body was almost teardrop-shaped, its head placed at the wider end on a neck so short it couldn't be seen in such terrible lighting.

Before Pace could do more than register the fact that this creature had heard him, it turned with surprising agility and reared up on its four rear legs, stroking the air with it's forelegs and hissing viciously.

The liger had only been this terrified once before, but fortunately he couldn't remember as he had been a baby at the time. He drew a deep breath and got slowly to his feet, holding out his hands to prove he carried nothing.

Apparently this was a mistake, because the creature hissed again and raised its forelegs even higher.

Pace lowered his arms, wondering what he had gotten himself into, and swallowed hard. It was then that he noticed the creature had taken a gulp too, and it was shaking. It couldn't have been from the cold because it was fairly warm in the Hall itself. '_Is he afraid of me?_'

It was true. The strange being was trembling like an aspen leaf in the wind and panting softly.

Pace swallowed again, wishing his throat wasn't so dry, and began to speak quietly. "Hello. My name is Patient Heart Liger, but my friends call me Pace. Are you a friend...or a foe?"

The creature was silent for so long that Pace wondered if it could even understand him, and he was about to speak again when it said in a low, husky male voice. "It depends."

Pace sighed. "Oh good, you c_an_ talk. It depends on what?"

Another pause, then, "You keep your distance, and we may converse. You come at me, and I strike."

"I'll stay back. Do you mind if I turn the lights on?" asked Pace.

The creature's eyes narrowed. "I mind."

"Okay...They can stay off, then. But...Not to be rude, but I can't quite tell what you are."

The creature slowly lowered itself back into a non-aggressive pose, and sighed. He had been caught, he hadn't been attacked, so he might as well tell him. "I'm a spider."

Pace settled himself slowly into a chair, and pointed to the table across the room. "Feel free to help yourself to some cider and apple cake, there's plenty."

"Huh?" the spider looked confused.

"If you needed food, all you had to do was ask." Pace said quietly, "Though I can appreciate why you didn't."

"Why is that?" asked the spider, almost challengingly.

"My guess is that you haven't been this way for very long, and you weren't sure what to think of us, and what we'd think of you." Pace replied.

The spider folded one foreleg over the other, amused and discomfited. "You're rather nosy, aren't you?"

"I suppose so..." Pace shrugged, and walked over to the table to get them some snacks. The fact that the spider didn't run away or become defensive again was promising, but Pace knew it would take a while to gain his trust. "And I guess you're wondering what happened to you."

The spider shook his head. "I know what happened to me, but not why. I had seen others...Others who changed, like me. But no spiders. I have, however, seen how beings react to spiders here, and having no desire to be a smudge on the clouds, I made myself scarce."

Pace winced. "A lot of people are afraid of spiders, I'm sorry to say. Maybe that's why you've been changed into a Cousin."

"Beg pardon?" the spider arched an eyebrow; he had two of these, one over each four-eyed arch, and an almost indistinguishable heart-shaped nose.

"Maybe your purpose is to show people that spiders can be beneficial..." Pace said.

"I wish to be left in peace." the spider told him in a very 'the subject is closed' manner.

"That's understandable..." Pace said, offering a cup of cider, which the spider took and sniffed warily before taking a sip. "But we can't have you starving. You can take whatever you need from the pantry. Now, don't look embarrassed. From your point of view, you did what you had to do."

"Why are you doing this?" asked the spider.

"Doing what?" Pace looked genuinely confused.

"_This_." the spider waved a foreleg to include the food. "Why do you share with me when I stole from you? Why do you not attack? I do not understand..."

"Well...Partly to help you." said Pace carefully, "and partly out of curiosity. We were wondering who it was, and even if we were in danger."

The spider snorted, shaking his head ruefully. "Without fangs or venom, I'm no more dangerous than you are. See?" He drew his lips back in an exaggerated smile and pointed to his mouth, the moonlight glinting off of a set of straight white teeth. Aside from the slightly elongated canines, they seemed almost human. "Good for chewing nuts, but bad for immobilizing prey. If my hatchmates could see me now, they'd laugh themselves into a premature molt."

"Spiders laugh?" Pace asked before he stopped himself, then he looked horrified. "I'm sorry, that was rude..."

"Well, they don't really..." the spider amended, "I quite startled myself the first time I did it."

"Do you have a name?"

The spider hesitated, then said "Justin."

"Justin. And I'm - "

"'Patient Heart Liger', I know." Justin smiled, "I'm no callow hatchling, but I'm far from entering my senility."

Pace gave an embarrassed chuckle, and said, "May I turn on the lights now?"

Justin sighed, "If you must..."

Pace got up and switched on the lights, and for the first time he got a good look at his new friend. Justin was as brown as Tender Heart, with a heart-shaped brick-red nose pad, and unnervingly large eyes. His wide mouth was tightly closed, and he was squinting against the glare of the lights. He had no fingers on his forelegs, but he did have an opposable thumb, and he could grip things just as easily as any Care Bear Cousin. Pace couldn't tell if he had a Tummy Symbol or not, but he was willing to bet that he didn't.

"Not quite the reaction I was expecting." Justin observed.

"Actually, any stranger would seem sinister in the dark. We've been talking for about ten minutes, so we both know there's nothing to fear. Now, tell me. Would you be willing to meet the rest of the Family?"

"Um..." Justin put down his cup, and backed warily towards the door. "I have to go."

"I won't force you. But I will have to tell them about you. You know that." said Pace.

Justin nodded resignedly, and said, "I can't promise anything...but I might join in my own time. Do not press me."

Pace didn't reply, but he picked up a sizable sack of produce and brought it over to the spider. "This should keep you fed for a week, so you don't need to make contact with us until then. It'll give you time to think."

Justin finally cracked a brief smile and hefted the sack over his shoulder. "I thank you."

Pace smiled and nodded. "You're welcome."

Justin turned and headed off into the night, and Pace folded his arms and tried to think of a good way to bring this up to the Family. Not everyone was a fan of spiders...

_More to come..._


	3. Chapter 3: The Meeting

"Justin Case"

"Chapter 3: The Meeting"

"Well, he has eight legs. Nahh, no, no, no..." Pace frowned as he tied his spiky mane into its trademark ponytail, and tried again. "Speaking of eight legs, that's what he has. Um...nuh-uh." He shifted his stance as he continued to address his reflection in his bedroom mirror, practicing for that morning's meeting. "Hey, has anyone here read 'Charlotte's Web'?" He plastered a fake-looking smile on his face before sighing and shaking his head. As much as he rehearsed for it, he knew his news would be received with mixed results. "Mom will probably have a coronary, and Soulful..."

"Mind you, I've got no room to talk," came a voice from the doorway, "but if people see you standing around talking to yourself, they just might think you've slipped a gear or three."

Pace smiled as he turned to face his youngest sister. "I was practicing, Faith."

Without asking his permission, Faith entered his room and plopped herself down in his desk chair. She was grown by now, but like the her siblings she hadn't moved out yet. Unlike her siblings, she was still tilting at windmills and seemed relatively untouched by the numerous acts of uncaring she had witnessed on Earth in her short lifetime. Pace fervently hoped she would never lose that quality. "Practicing what?" she asked him.

He cocked an ear to make sure none of the others were nearby, and said, "Well, I know who and what our thief is, but telling everyone else won't be easy."

"Why not?" she asked, "Is it Mr. Beastly?"

"No, no. It's a new Cousin. He's...well, he's a spider." he told her, ready to clap a paw over her mouth.

Faith's ears perked up in surprise. "How do you know? Did you see him?"

Pace nodded and sat down across from her, relieved that she seemed to be taking it in her stride. "Yes, last night. I even talked to him."

"What's he like?" she asked, intrigued.

Pace obligingly told her about last night's meeting; Justin seemed to be slightly older than the other Bears and Cousins, but younger than Grams Bear. He told his sister that Justin was extremely wary and suspicious, but that he didn't seem dangerous. "If anything, I think he sees _us_ as being a danger to _him._" he said. "He hasn't decided what he wants to do yet, in terms of joining us. And I haven't decided how I'm going to put it to the others that we've got a spider in our midst."

Faith leaned back in the chair, causing it to creak. "Who says you have to say _anything_ just yet? If he wants to be left alone, it won't help to have the others combing the entire Kingdom of Caring for him."

"But I have to mention it, though. I told you, I gave him a good deal of food last night, and Brave Heart will want to know where it went. I can't just _lie_ to him and say I don't know." said Pace, "If the food's gone without an explanation, the leaders will _really_ go out of their way to flush him out. And I have to tell you, Justin may or may not be an aggressive guy, but he sure gave a good impression of one last night when I startled him."

"Well then," Faith said briskly, getting up and heading for the door, "There's nothing for you to do than be frank about it. Acting like you have a big secret'll just put everyone on edge, and as far as stories go this's a big one."

Pace followed her out, offering a sour smirk. "I just hope their reaction won't be as big as the story."

They headed downstairs to find Chance sitting on the couch with his legs up on the arm and talking on the phone.

"No, Darien, I'm not gonna go get her." Chance was saying, "Because I can't, that's why. Why can't I?"

Pace bit his lip as he faintly heard Darien snarl '_I just asked ya that, you dumbbell!_'

Chance grinned and twirled the phone cord around his finger. "I'm sorry, you'll have to speak up." He covered the mouthpiece so that he could laugh at the tirade that was pouring into his ear, and it was a good thirty seconds before it ended and he removed his paw again. "Oh, that's nice. You kiss my sister with that mouth?"

Feeling that things had gone far enough, Faith reached for the phone, raising her voice so that Darien could hear her. "Hope already left for the Hall, Darien! Chance, let go."

"Waitaminnit, I wanna say goodbye first." Chance told her, and proceeded to belch loudly into the phone before handing it over to her with a grin.

"_That's _setting an example. Will you get outta here?" Faith shoved Chance out of the room, and began to apologize before she realized that Darien had already hung up. "I have a feeling this's going to be a long day." she muttered as she returned the phone to its cradle.

"Hopefully a long, _uneventful_ day." Said Pace to himself.

* * *

The meeting started out pretty much as Pace had expected. Brave Heart started things off by going over last night's inventory, saying that much more had been taken this time, and that something would have to be done. Pace knew that this was his cue, and he rose to address the Family.

"Nothing was stolen last night. I gave the food away because it had to be done." He said. "We have a new Cousin who would have starved if he hadn't raided our food supplies. I met him last night."

For a moment almost everyone was excitedly talking at once, and Noble Heart held up a paw for silence. "Is he at the Hall right now, in one of the spare rooms?"

Pace shook his head.

Regal Heart looked appalled. "You mean you let him go? Without a place to stay? He'll freeze."

"I didn't say he has no place to stay. He's been living in burrows he's dug in the cloud floor. I found a filled-in one yesterday. Everyone knows the clouds make great insulation. He'll be fine for now." Said Pace.

Brave Heart shook his head disapprovingly at his nephew. "I can't believe you didn't invite him to stay. Do you even know where he is now?"

Pace gave his tail a single lash, his only outward sign of growing annoyance. "I did invite him to stay, but as of yet he doesn't have an answer for us."

"Well, why not?" demanded Brave Heart.

"Because he's afraid." Said Pace. The others looked a bit surprised and bewildered, but Pace knew this wouldn't last. When they heard the rest of it…

"But why would he be afraid of us?" asked True Heart.

Pace had a brief mental image of a Care Bear brandishing a can of Raid in one paw and a fly-swatter in the other. "Because of what he is, and what he was before he was transformed. He's seen what happened before to other members of his…kind." He grimaced slightly, not knowing how else to put it.

A few of them looked worried now. Just what _was_ Pace trying to tell them?

Pace went on before anyone could ask. "Before I tell you what he is, please listen to me. I spoke to him for a while, and he's not a threat. He has no intentions of harming anyone, and he doesn't introduce himself because he's not sure he won't be harmed by us. Some of you _will_ be afraid of him at first, simply because of what he is, but he is _not_ a threat."

By now, at least half of them were beginning to look worried.

"But what _is_ he?" asked Tender Heart. "People are afraid of bears too, but a Care Bear is different." He pointed out.

"I hope you'll all keep that in mind." Pace sighed, setting his teeth to the proverbial bullet. "He's a spider."

In the silence that followed, you could have heard a pin drop. Regal felt her heart seize up for a brief moment as she suddenly felt cold and light-headed. Stellar, who knew of his wife's fear of spiders, put a comforting arm around her and cleared his throat. "Do you know when you might see him again, son?"

"I..." Pace began, but was interrupted by Soulful Heart falling sideways out of his chair in a dead faint.

* * *

"Well, _that _went well." said Pace in a tone that meant exactly the opposite as he walked with his sister, Faith.

"It could have been worse." she said comfortingly.

"Oh really? How?" he looked at her.

"Well, Mom didn't say anything at all, so we know she's not opposed..." she began.

"No we don't." he said. "Did you see the look on her face? She's scared speechless, and Soulful passed out. And at least half of the others aren't sure about this at all."

The white liger sighed. "You're such a pessimist sometimes, Pace. I mean, think about it. We have several different 'animal' types here, many of which would be extremely dangerous if they weren't Care Bear Family members. Sooner or later, we were bound to get someone who was strange, even for us, right?"

"Yes...Maybe."

"Look at _us_. Our parents are a lioness and a tiger, and we're the only cross-breeds up here." she lowered her voice, "And Soulful Heart is different in another way, in how he came into being. Different doesn't have to be bad. And the leaders made it clear that Justin's welcome whenever he does decide to come out. Nobody objected, did they?"

"Not unless you call falling out of your chair an objection." Pace said sourly, but he was feeling better about the whole thing. He was silent for a long time, and when he looked over he saw that Faith was gone. He sighed, shaking his head. He knew that her mind was often wandering, and that sometimes her feet decided to follow. "I better go check on Soulful."

* * *

Soulful's angry voice grated through the door with such force that Pace wouldn't have been surprised to see a cloud of splinters rising. "I'M NOT COMING OUT!"

"I'm not asking you to come out, I'm asking you to let me in." Pace called back.

"Buzz off!" growled the fox.

"Look, why're you mad at _me?_" asked Pace, "It's not as if I lied to you. I didn't know who it was until last night."

"You invited him to _stay!_" shrieked Soulful, "_A spider, _you invited _a spider!_ You..." He sputtered incoherantly for a second or two, then grew quiet.

Pace leaned against the side of the house and sighed, trying to think of the best way to approach this. "Soulful...Just because a few of my friends are afraid of spiders doesn't mean I can, in good conscience, allow a fellow Care Bear Cousin to starve to death, or freeze because of what he is. Nobody _asks_ to be created the way they are." he used the word 'created' instead of born, knowing that some things had to be brought up carefully when it came to Soulful. "He didn't ask to be a spider, but that's what he is. He's also a Care Bear Cousin, and whether you choose to associate with him or not, I know for a fact that he won't hurt you, or anyone else. There's a saying that I'm sure you know very well; '_Don't judge a book by its cover_'. You can be unhappy about this if you want to, and you can be angry; I can't tell you what to feel. Nor will I ask for forgiveness, because I've done nothing wrong. But...don't assume he's a bad person just because he's a spider."

There was no answer from inside, and Pace shook his head. "I gotta go."

Soulful didn't stop him.

_Author's Note: Sorry this chapter was so short, but I haven't had much time to write and I'm trying to figure out this new laptop. My old one finally decided to die. Also, sorry for any spelling mistakes, but my spellchecker's on the fritz. The actual idea for a spider Cousin belongs to Chibikan, who I frequently RP with. Originally, Justin was meant to be younger, but I decided to make him middle-aged because it was more logical. Have you guessed that he's the same tarantula that Faith spotted on the wall in 'Darien', and that Beastly used to taunt Regal in 'Since I Found You'? Living among the Bears and Cousins would have lengthened his lifespan, but he wouldn't have been immortal. Now that he is, like the rest of them, he's slightly over the hill. I imagine him sounding a bit like John Cleese, hee hee. :) I hope you enjoy the next chapter, which I hope to start soon._


	4. Young Dreamer, Bad Luck

"Justin Case"

_Author's Note:__ Sorry it's been so long since I last updated. Most of my time is occupied with school these days, but I fully intend to finish this and "Darien". As for my other stories-on-hold...well, we'll have to see how things go, but it's not looking good, unfortunately. Just a warning, this chapter gets a bit violent, but hopefully I didn't go overboard. Enjoy!_

"Chapter 4: Young Dreamer, Bad Luck"

Justin yawned, stretching his forelegs out in front of him to ease the stiffness that had crept into his joints overnight. His current burrow was a shallow one, and he hadn't yet had the time to make it deeper. Cold air seeped in around the edges of the trapdoor, penetrating the cocoon of body heat that he had been trying (with limited success) to build up. The spider hadn't slept well at all, and he was feeling rather cantankerous this morning.

Meeting one of the strange two-legged beings face to face had shaken him badly, and he didn't really know what he should do yet. It was alarming enough to know that they were aware of his presence, but now he was faced with the uncertainty of whether or not Patient Heart's invitation was sincerely meant...or if it was a trap. It was true that Pace could have detained him, but Justin wondered if maybe the liger was toying with him, drawing it out. Playing 'cat-and-mouse'. As uncharitable as the thought was, it wasn't in his nature to give a stranger the benefit of the doubt. Even though he half-trusted Pace already, and had grudgingly taken a liking to him, he was wary.

He shook his head and dug through the sack of food that Pace had given him the night before, coming up with a small loaf of bread. He broke it in half, and returned one of the halves to the bag before nibbling at the other half. '_Even if he was being truthful, there's no guarantee that the others won't turn me away._' he thought. '_Or worse._'

He jumped as a gust of wind caught the edge of the trapdoor and blew it wide open. "Oh, blast..." he grumbled, clutching his bread in one 'paw' as he moved forward and reached up to catch the door as it flapped in the breeze. He supposed he must have been careless in his haste to dig a new burrow for it to seal so badly, and as he emerged to mend the damage he saw something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

A small white creature with brown stripes and a very surprised expression on her face was sitting not three feet away from the burrow, loosely holding a worn and yellowed novel in one trembling paw. When she didn't scream or run away, he wondered if she was trembling out of fear or cold. His first thought was to run, and his second thought was to try to scare her away. He discarded both thoughts, and waited to see what she would do.

Without taking her eyes off him for a moment, she marked her page with a blade of grass, adjusted the lapels of her pink jacket, and raised one paw in a tentative wave. "Um...hi?"

He forgot about his bread, and it fell from his nerveless 'paw' to tumble back into the recesses of his burrow. He flung the trapdoor all the way back, and stood blocking the entrance. "You are...a liger?"

She nodded. "Yes..."

"Are you not afraid of me?" he asked.

"Not yet." she replied, cautious but friendly.

He smiled in spite of himself, but the expression was gone in a flash. "How did you find my house?"

"By accident." she told him, getting to her feet, an action that caused him to take a step back. "I come here all the time."  
"Ah." he nodded slowly, then his face took on an irritated frown. "You do realize what trouble you've caused me, don't you? Now I shall have to move..._again_."

"Oh, I can keep a secret. No one will know where you live unless you tell them. My brother told us about you today. You know, you met him last night?" she asked him. When she received a single nod, she went on, "The leaders want to meet you."

Justin folded one foreleg over the other and settled himself down, having decided that this one, at least, was harmless. "Did your brother also tell them that I haven't made my decision yet?" he inquired.

"Mm-hmm."

"Well, know this..." he told her, "I am a very suspicious individual. I will not trust without good reason, and certainly not implicitly. I've nearly met my death several times over at the hands of your brethren. This does not encourage me to trust you. You seem like a nice young lady, but how can I be sure? How can _you_ be sure of _me? _After all, I _am_ a stranger, and a strange one at that..."

She shrugged and replied, "I guess we _can't_ know. We can only _believe._ Or not." she smiled, "I trust you, though. Justin, isn't it? I'm Faith."

Justin was, to say the least, nonplussed. He had hoped that she would clear off and leave him in peace so that he could move to another location, but she showed no signs of fear or the inclination to leave. He sighed, nodding. "Yes, that is my name. What do you want from me, young Faith?"

She regarded him as if she thought his question a very silly one. "Nothing, I just want to be friends."

He raised an eyebrow. "With a big grouchy spider like me?"

He was only feeling grumpy because it was early, but she had no way of knowing that. She shrugged, looking uncertain now. "I thought, since you made friends with Pace..."

Justin closed his eight eyes and shook his head, his stand-offish facade coming down. "Child, I know what you are trying to do, but I think you must be living in a dream world. I am not naive enough to expect all of you to accept me as easily as you and your brother have. Nor can I forget having to run for my life on several occasions. I said I would consider it, and I will. But...I simply don't know what it is that I wish to do yet. Do you understand me?"

Faith looked down, saddened by his tone of gentle finality, and nodded. "I guess so...But you _don't_ have to move. I promise, I won't tell anyone I saw you."

Justin smiled a little. "I believe you. Goodbye, young dreamer."

Faith looked up and smiled sadly, realizing that she was being dismissed. "Bye."

Justin watched her go, and it occurred to him that he had seen her before. '_Of course...Before I changed, I saw her when she was but a child..._'

He was about to return to the dark recesses of his burrow when a shrill, terrified scream cut a swath through the chill autumn air. Justin went rigid with shock, recognizing the voice as belonging to Faith, and he gasped when he heard the answering shriek of some kind of predatory bird. He had heard hawks and eagles before, but it was as if someone had recorded a scream from one of those birds before blasting it across the clouds with super sized speakers. But of course that wasn't what it was. And this bird must certainly be massive

"Faith..." Justin whispered, standing in an agony of indecision before abandoning his burrow and scurrying as only spiders can in the direction of the sounds.

* * *

On a whim, No Heart had decided to cause some trouble in the Kingdom of Caring. Things had been far too quiet lately, and quite frankly the sorcerer was bored. He had left his castle with no definite plan of attack, but striking fear into the heart of one of those annoying Ligers seemed to be as good a plan as any. This one had showed no signs of possessing any sort of special abilities, and according to Beastly she was a notorious dreamer. Not that Beastly had used those particular words, of course. She had tried frequently to change Beastly for the better when she was a cub. On one such occasion, Beastly had gone along with it and fooled the child into thinking he was her friend, only to turn on her at the last minute and brag about the horrible things his master would do to her. 

Even after that she was far too trusting, and No Heart intended to have the fun of exhausting her before moving in for the kill. He circled high overhead before swooping down to clack his talons by her ear, drawing yet another scream from her as she dove to avoid it.

If she could only reach the others in time! There was no way she could hold him off on her own, and what made it worse was that she knew he was toying with her. She could do nothing but unwillingly play her part in his little game, running for her life and panting in rasps as she wondered if the _next_ swoop would bring her death, or would the one after that...

No Heart could see the rooftops in the distance, and he realized they were nearing Care-a-Lot. This was perfect! The others would witness this, but would be able to do nothing! He flew on ahead of her and landed to block her path, adjusting his wings before reverting to his humanoid form. "This is as far as you go, little pest!"

Faith skidded to a stop and sent a Call at him in desperation, but No Heart had steeled himself against it. One Care Bear Cousin couldn't cause him any lasting harm, and he laughed mockingly through the searing pain of her Call.

"Now you will feel the sting of my _hatred!_"he raised one blue, claw-like hand.

Tender Heart and several others had spotted them, and they were racing towards them as fast as they could go, but it was painfully clear that they wouldn't make it in time. Stellar was among them, and he looked positively ferocious as he rushed to his daughter's aid, but No Heart paid them no mind. He had her right where he wanted her, and there wasn't a thing they could do about it.

Faith felt dizziness closing in on her as flashes of red lightning began to sizzle around No Heart's fist. Part of her mind had detached from reality, and was incredulously wondering just how was it that he wasn't being shocked by his own energy...

No Heart abruptly lowered his hand and pointed one long, bony finger at her. There was a loud **'BOOM!'**, and just as she closed her eyes she heard a vaguely familiar voice yell out the word 'NO!'. At the moment when she _should_ have been struck by No Heart's lightning bolt, she instead heard a shrill cry of absolute agony. She opened her eyes to find Justin sprawled on the clouds before her, thrashing as he tried to regain his feet and rubbing at his face.

"Meddling creature!" No Heart grumbled, preparing for a second attack that would finish them both. Unfortunately for him, Brave Heart and the others had just gotten within Staring range.

"STARE!" bellowed Brave Heart Lion, and the group of ten lost no time in launching their attack.

"Nooooooooo!" yelled No Heart, warding off the light and heat with one hand and clutching his medallion with the other. He had no choice but to leave, and taking on the form of a vulture he made good his escape.

Faith rubbed her eyes as she became a little more steady on her feet, when she opened them she could barely make out an orange-and-black blur coming straight at her. Stellar pulled her close, holding her too tightly, and her nerve finally snapped. She buried her face in his shoulder, shaking with reaction and crying. There was a skittering sound, and she heard Pace call out 'come back', and then 'we have to stop him'.

Justin had finally regained his feet and fled instinctively for his burrow, leaving a trail of tiny scarlet droplets in his wake.

* * *

No Heart's attack had hurt, but it was nothing compared to the pain Justin was in now. The shock of impact had worn off and, unable to really see where he was going, Justin ran blindly in the general direction of his burrow. The left side of his face felt like meat, and he kept his 'paw' pressed firmly over the damage as he felt his way home. Three of his eyes were damaged and the other five were fine, but when he tried to open the undamaged ones he found that he couldn't. They seemed to be glued shut with the tears that reflexively welled up and ran down his face, tears that had absolutely nothing to do with emotion. Adrenaline and fear were the only things that kept him going, and he somehow made it back to his burrow without the use of his eyes. '_My feet knew the way..._' his mind told him. 

He backed into his burrow and pulled the trapdoor tightly shut, holding on to it because it didn't have a latch, and hyperventilating as he tried to assess the damage that was done to his face. He couldn't open three of his eyes because of the swelling, and his face...

The entire left side of his face from the eyes down was a mass of matted fur and blood, which still trickled from at least two gashes in his left cheek. '_I left a trail...tracks and blood...they'll follow me here..._'

He didn't care. His grip loosened on the edge of his trapdoor, and he lowered his globular body to the floor of his shallow den. The sudden burst of energy that had enabled him to flee was ebbing, and he rested his injured cheek on the floor. His last thought before losing consciousness was that he was grateful for the coolness that radiated through the silk-lined clouds.

* * *

Even if Justin hadn't left behind a trail that even a novice tracker could follow, Faith knew where to find him. It had only taken her a moment or two to regain her composure, and her father was impressed at how calmly she directed them as they drove deeper into the Forest of Feelings. 

"We should be coming up on his house pretty soon. Has anyone called Take Care yet?" she glanced around at the others. Brave Heart, who had a cell phone to his ear, gave her a wink and the 'thumbs-up' sign. Faith sighed. "Good...What does she say?"

Brave Heart held up a finger. "Just a minute, hun." then he rolled his eyes. "No, not _you_, Take Care, Faith wanted to ask me somethin'. Yep. Uh-huh...Will do. Okay, bye." he pressed a button before putting his cell away, and said, "She says if he was strong enough to bolt like he did, it's fine to move him. She'll get things ready for when he gets there."

Faith nodded, then pointed. "Stop here!"

They got out of their Cloudmobiles, and Stellar put his paws on his daughter's shoulders, gently holding her back as Pace stooped to lift the trapdoor. It came up easily, but from Faith's vantage point she couldn't see anything.

Pace squinted, trying to see into the burrow. "Justin? How badly are you hurt?" He waited for a reply, and when he saw the tiny scarlet speckles that led into the burrow like Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumbs, his stomach did a clenching flip-flop. "I know you're in there, Justin. Can you hear me?"

No answer. '_I hope he's only unconscious..._' Pace thought as he stood up. "I need a flashlight."

Stellar turned back to his Cloudmobile and fished one out of the glove compartment. He passed it on to Faith, but instead of giving it to her brother, she knelt at the mouth of the burrow and turned it on with a _click_. She gasped and covered her mouth when the beam of light revealed what was inside. "His...My stars, his poor _face..._" she whispered as the flashlight slipped from her loosening grasp and into the burrow.

Justin shuddered a bit as the flashlight rolled in and knocked lightly against his foreleg, and it took him a moment to realize that his name was being called over and over, by many voices. He covered the injured half of his face and slowly pulled himself into the light before collapsing, half in and half out of his burrow, his head swimming. He felt himself being lifted all the way out, and he heard their exclamations of horror and pity at his state. He heard a female voice beginning to cry, and he oriented on it and remembered who it belonged to. "Young dreamer..."

_To Be Continued..._


End file.
